CISR22650 - Authenticate customer: authentication: recording suspect or ‘bogus’ contact by telephone

| CISR22000 | Information contents | |—————————————————————————————————–|———————-|

To ensure that our standards of confidentiality are maintained it is essential that we confirm the identity of callers. The ‘Authentication’ process exists to verify that the person making contact is the customer or someone known to HMRC and authorised to act on the customer’s behalf. To this end all Menu windows within the CIS system contain a ‘Bogus’ indicator and a [Contact] hyperlink to allow access to the ‘View Contact History’ window

This action guide describes the action needed where you suspect that the originator of a call is bogus. It is likely that doubts about the caller will more usually surface during authentication.

  1. Where you have doubts as to the identity of the caller you should first note the record by selecting the ‘Bogus’ tick box situated at the top right line of the window.
  2. Where you are attempting authentication you should seek answers to further ‘Additional’ questions within the ‘Authenticate Individual’ or, depending upon the type of contact, other appropriate authentication window.
  3. Where you are satisfied with the answers given you should select [OK] to go to the ‘CIS Main Menu’ window and proceed with the purpose of the call.
  4. Where you are not satisfied with the answers given you should politely and firmly terminate the call and ask the caller to put the matter in writing. You should then go on to select OK and finally ‘End Contact’.

The setting of the bogus checkbox will result in a warning message being displayed at the top of the Mandatory area when you open the Authentication Customer window as follows: “Warning: recent contact reported suspect/bogus”. The message is there to draw your attention to any earlier attempts to breach customer confidentiality and to alert you to the possibility of a fresh attempt. You should proceed with extra care if you see it and be more vigilant by asking extra questions.

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

Note: Where you believe that a bogus contact has been made, the updating of the CIS Contact History Summary does not replace the need to make a report to the Telephone Standards Authority by way of your Security Liaison Officer.